Moving Forward
by Joatille
Summary: The witches of Crowhaven Road, one year after the death of Black John.  Diana finds love in the likeliest of places. Very short Nick/Diana.
1. Chapter 1

Diana sat on her windowsill, looking down on Crowhaven Road. The early morning sun warmed her skin, and caused her prisms to sparkle resplendently. It was a beautiful day, and sitting here like this was one of her favorite morning rituals. Sitting here usually made her feel calm and hopeful – but it wasn't working.

She felt fatigued, weak; she felt as though she had just woken up after a long illness. She attributed some of that feeling to the emotions of yesterday. Cassie and Adam's wedding had been beautiful, and she had cried as she would have at any wedding. She cried over their goodbyes as well, seeing her best friend and her former boyfriend off on their honeymoon. Cassie and Adam would spend the whole summer travelling the Mediterranean, and then settle back in at Number 12 before classes began at Salem State University.

Yet while Diana had had so much time to get used to the idea of Cassie and Adam as a unit – as Mr and Mrs Conant – she had not known that the reality of it would leave her feeling so empty. She felt as though whatever strength that had propelled her through the past year had suddenly vanished, and she was mourning the loss of her childhood sweetheart for the first time.

She heard the front door open and close, and the unmistakable sound of footsteps on the stairs. "Diana?" called Nick's voice, as he opened her bedroom door and peered inside.

"Good morning, Nick," she said, smiling, "What brings you here so early?"

"There's something I want to ask you." The expression on his handsome face was impassive, but there were dark circles beneath his rich mahogany eyes.

"Anything," she replied earnestly, patting the window seat next to her.

Nick made no move to join her. His brow furrowed slightly, and he looked away from her. His chest rose with an intake of deep breath, which he exhaled quickly. He lifted his gaze to hers once more, and said, "How do you do it? How can you be so accepting of all of this?" His face was no longer impassive, his expression now mixed with bewilderment and hurt.

Diana looked away from him, and turned her face to the window. "I don't do it, Nick. Not really. Not anymore." She could feel tears beginning to form. "I've done what is right, what had to be done, but…" Her voice faltered as a single tear streamed down her cheek.

In quick, easy strides, he was next to her. He stood over her, taking her hand in his. She looked up at him, and was surprised to see tears in his eyes as well. She reached out for his other hand, and gently pulled him to sit next to her on the window seat. She slid closer to him, and he draped one arm around her shoulders, and held her hand with his other. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and there they sat, just holding one another, for what seemed like hours.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Diana rose early, as was her custom, and again was perched on her window seat. She was enjoying a cup of tea, browsing idly through her Book of Shadows.

She should be perusing the book, of course; the Circle was compiling ideas on what to focus their powers on, now that they had the Master Tools. After so many years of searching, to finally have found their ancestral tools was beyond a victory. Opportunity and possibility stretched wide before them, but all Diana could think about right now was a particular pair of mahogany eyes and the mysteries within them.

Diana half-hoped that Nick would return this morning, and she was admittedly disappointed when she saw his Mustang drive away from Crowhaven Road. Suddenly she was irritated, and slammed her Book of Shadows closed with surprising force.

She paced the room now, slowly, wondering at herself. What was it that she wanted to happen? That Nick would come back, and hold her as he had yesterday, his shoulder strong and warm as he murmured comforts and reassurances into her ear? She found herself craving him, craving that closeness, craving his warmth, craving even his scent. That smell, unmistakably masculine – wood smoke and leather and a faint citrus. Cologne, perhaps. She wanted to breathe him in, and take him in her arms, and…

_Snap out of it, _her inner voice said. This is Nick.

_Yes, Nick, _she thought, whom she had always known, whom she had always cared for. He had always been special to her, but yesterday it felt like something more. As though being in his arms was like finally coming home. They were connected; there was a bond between them…a chord…

Diana continued her pacing, moving more quickly now. Was she imaging this feeling? Could it be that she was simply creating something, something to ease her pain of losing the one man she thought she would spend forever with?

On one hand, she thought that might be it. She had loved Adam for her entire life, she had never considered her future without him. Yet suddenly he was gone, and she had to give him away with both hands. Even though she was happy for Adam and Cassie, she was the one alone now. Were her emotions that fickle, transferring to the first man who came close to her? Filling her void, her emptiness, with Nick? She was surprised at herself.

But deep down, she thought that perhaps there was something else and she had been too distracted before to see it. There was one way to find out. She would see Nick again, touch him again – see if their magic was real.


	3. Chapter 3

Nick didn't come home that night, or the next. Today was the third day of his absence, and Diana felt it acutely. She was exhausted from her anxious vigil, and as the sun sank lower in the sky, she felt certain that he would not return this night either.

_I need air_, she thought, and decided she would head down to the beach. The rhythmic lullaby of the waves would be perfect for her frayed nerves. She put on her white bikini and a pair of denim shorts, and slid into a pair a flip-flops. She pulled her long hair into a ponytail, and headed down Crowhaven Road.

The sun and the brisk pace of her walking made her feel better than she had in days. She had been indoors too long; it felt good being active again. With each step she started to doubt the fervent need she had been feeling for Nick over the past three days. Perhaps her initial assumption was right – she was being fickle, and trying to fill a void with an available male. The thought made her cheeks grow hot, and she was embarrassed and a bit angry with herself. Nick was her childhood friend, and they would always be friends, but she would not use him to make herself feel better.

She reached the sand, and immediately took of her shoes and shorts. She went straight for the surf; the cool water stung her legs pleasantly, and she waded knee-deep into its depth.

She was surveying the vastness of the horizon and wriggling her toes into the sinking sand when she heard splashing behind her. She knew before she turned that it was him, and felt a burst of happiness within her chest at the thought of him. She turned to greet him, a smile pulling the corners of her mouth.

Nick had waded out to her, clad in black swim trunks that hung low on his narrow hips. His chest was bare, and Diana could not help but rake her eyes over taut stomach and well formed chest. She pulled her eyes up to meet his, and was paralyzed by the intensity found there.

This was real, this was magic. She wanted to run to him, to seize him in her arms and never let go. To feel his smooth skin pressed against her. Could he possibly feel the same way towards her? Or did he still pine for Cassie?


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Nick…" Diana said, smiling, trying to control her voice. "Where have you been? I've been wanting to… talk to you."

Nick did not smile at her in return. His face was set, a mask with no emotion. Diana was puzzled. "I've been in Boston," he replied evenly. "I took a job there. A garage. Restoring old cars." He shrugged, and turned his gaze away from her.

Diana's brow furrowed in confusion. "That's a long drive," she said.

He turned towards her again, meeting her eyes. "I'm moving down there. I've already signed on an apartment."

Diana felt as though the ground had wobbled beneath her. Nick would move away? Boston wasn't too far, less than a two hour drive, but it seemed like a world away.

"What about Deb? And the rest of us? And…" she wanted to say "me", but said, "..the Circle? We've just found the Master Tools – we have a real chance to…"

"I'll drive up for Circle business," he said coolly, cutting her off. "As for Deb and the rest, well, I'm sure they can bear the distance. There's nothing for me here, Diana."

That felt like a punch to the stomach to Diana. Apparently Nick still did pine for Cassie. He didn't feel the connection between them, he didn't want her, and she couldn't live without him. She felt certain of her feelings now. Nick was made for her, and she for him.

She reached her hand out to take his, but he took a step away from her. She stepped too, to close the distance between them, but he held his hand up for her to stop.

"It's already done, Diana. I'm going tonight. I drove back up to pick up my things. I saw you walking down here and I wanted to… say goodbye. Goodbye." He turned from her and started back towards the beach.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note:_

_Final chapter! This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, and I am so thankful for all of your kind reviews. I am sorry that it took me so long to complete. Thank you again, and I hope you liked this quick story :)_

"Nick…" she said with a sigh, watching his retreating back. He was leaving, leaving Crowhaven Road, leaving _her_, starting a new life and meeting new people, and meeting girls, and one day he'd bring one home…

The thought of Nick with another girl, with another life, instantly sent a shot of hot jealousy through her. She couldn't let him go, she wouldn't let him go, and so she tried to run after him, her movements limited by the water and the sinking sands, and he was getting farther away, he was leaving, he was going…

"Nick!" she yelled, still moving forward. He was already walking along the beach back to the bluff when she reached the dry sand. "Nick!" she called, more fervently, and began to run towards him.

He turned around, and she saw the look of surprise on his face. She kept running towards him, and stopped suddenly, just inches away from him.

"You can't leave, Nick," she said to him imploringly, "Not from Crowhaven Road, not from New Salem, not from me. Not from me, Nick, because I think…" she couldn't finish her sentence. She felt tears welling in her eyes as she looked at him.

His mask was gone, shattered. He was detached no longer. His raised his hands and ever so gently smoothed an errant strand of her from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. "Diana," he said, speaking in a low voice, a voice she had never heard. "Diana, do you mean that you care for me?"

"Nick, I've always cared for you," she said, smiling weakly. "But I think I feel more than that Nick. I felt something that morning that you came to my house, when you held me. I felt something that I've never felt before. Not just for you Nick, something I have never felt with _anyone_."

Nick smiled, his joy lighting his whole face. He reached forward and took both of her hands in his. "I've always felt that Diana, always with you. For as long as I can remember," he added, almost absently.

"Didn't you wonder why I never liked Conant?" he said, and she nodded slightly in return. "It was because of you, Diana. He had you and I hated him for it."

"But what about you and Cassie, Nick?" Diana asked, "you cared for her. I know you did."

"I did care for her. I still do. She was the first girl who ever distracted me from you, and I thought I had finally found the one. When I found out that she had feelings for Conant, too…" His eyes darkened. "I can't tell you how much it hurt me."

"Oh Nick, " Diana said, and then gave up on talking. She knew how he felt. So instead, she pulled him closer to her, their faces only inches apart. She could feel the heat from his body against her, and she knew she was where she was supposed to be.

Nick released her hands, and cupped both sides of her face. And then he kissed her.

_Home at long last _thought Diana, as his lips sent shivers of electricity down her back. His lips were warms and soft, his kiss was tender and yet passionate. She put her arms around his waist, pulling him ever closer to her.

His lips broke away from hers at long last, and she rested her head against his chest, his chin resting on the top of her hair. She knew that this was real magic, their cord had been united, and they would never break apart.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, Diana," he replied, "I've loved you all along."


End file.
